1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the use of a given laser output format for various applications in which the laser output is used for both rangefinding and information transfer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Normally, the gain switched spike of the laser pulse is used for ranging and the tail portion is unused, which means that kilowatts of power are thrown away. The present invention is comprised of a means to use the tail of the CO.sub.2 TEA laser pulse for information transfer. The old power supplies only triggered the Pockels Cell modulator one pulse at a time per laser pulse. However, the present power supply continually pulses during the time the laser pulse is present.